The famed life-size dancing doll “Miss Coney Island” and the miniature animated rides of “Coney Island Always” are getting spruced up today in anticipation of Coney Island’s official Opening Day. Palm Sunday is just two weeks away on March 29th.

Window washing and replacement of some of the novel items on display are currently underway. The big news is that one of Miss Coney’s dancing cats is retiring and a dancing white rabbit doll is getting the spot. This means that Miss Coney Island will have possibly the only coney in Coney! Coney Island was of course named Conyne Eylandt –Rabbit Island– by the Dutch after the wild rabbits that lived here in the 17th century.

These whimsical, independently owned amusements cost only 25 cents each to enjoy and along with games of skill such as Skin the Wire and Feed the Clown are located on West 12th Street beneath Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park. If you would like to spend the summer with Miss Coney Island and her friends, games operators are needed for the 2015 season. Apply in person or tweet @MissConeyIsland.

This weekend is your last chance to dance with the life-size dancing doll “Miss Coney Island” and enjoy the miniature animated rides of “Coney Island Always” before they close for the year. These independently owned amusements cost only 25 cents each and are located on West 12th Street off the Boardwalk, beneath Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park.

When ATZ “interviewed” Miss Coney after she moved from Jones Walk in 2012, it was revealed that in a past life she was an Indian princess automaton at Connecticut’s Great Danbury Fair. Though you’d never guess it after her glam makeover, this doll dates back to the 1930s. The shimmying mannequin is a magnet for visiting divas. Catch her at 2:20 in Beyonce’s music vid XO and with Rita Ora in a fashion shoot for Vibe Magazine. Miss Coney Island’s taglines on twitter are “Don’t Postpone Joy” and “25 cents to fall in LOVE.” (more…)

Dig those quarters out of your purse. The dancing doll “Miss Coney Island” is open for business this afternoon from 1pm. Still 25¢ to Fall in LOVE! The window featuring the miniature rides of “Coney Island Always” as well as games of skill and Christmas gift shop will be open too. Located on West 12th Street a few steps from the entrance to Wonder Wheel Park.

Among the new amusement rides coming to Coney Island this season are Watermania, a brand-new Zamperla water ride set to debut in Luna Park, and a rebuilt Spook-a-Rama dark ride with props from Scarefactory at Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park. In the meantime, Benny’s “Coney Island Always,” a window on West 12th Street showcasing a miniature animated amusement park, has the first new ride of 2013 already installed. It’s a model chair-o-plane with biplane seats. Along with its next-door neighbor the dancing doll “Miss Coney Island,” the coin-op attraction has fully recovered from Sandy and will be open for business on March 24th, Coney’s Opening Day. Both attractions still cost “25¢ to Have Fun & Feel Good.” Bring a roll of quarters.

“Coney Island Always” is located on West 12th Street next to the Coney Island History Project and across from the Steeplechase coaster. The model amusemwnts include a Carousel, Wave Swinger, Parachute Jump, Giant Wheel and Ice Skating Rink. During the season, children and their families crowd around the window to see the miniature park awhirl. Miss Coney Island, whose motto is “Don’t Postpone Joy” and “25¢ to Fall in LOVE” is very popular too. Earlier in her career, the shimmying mannequin was an Indian Princess automaton at a fairground exhibition. You can read ATZ’s interview with her here.